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ckirkhart's review
3.0
Sick Justice: Inside the American Gulag exposes the corruption, indifference, and plain idiocy at work at every level of the penal system - from arrests and sentencing, to prison conditions and the plight of ex-convicts. The book provides a history of changes in the laws that have led to these outcomes and incorporates the findings of many academic studies in its analysis. Additionally, the personal stories and anecdotes interspersed throughout the text are incredibly shocking and bring home the reality of one-size-fits-all sentencing for individual offenders. I'm simply horrified by much of what I've learned in this book, and I predict that any reader will be left in awe of the widespread injustice of the system.
While the book is well-annotated, much of the text verges on the polemical (as one might guess from the subtitle). Some of the comparisons drawn by the author are over the top and work to detract from the sense of legitimacy of the more fact-based sections. Additionally, I found the organization of the book to be lacking. I couldn't identify a logical progression to the arguments laid out by the author, and even within single chapters the text is disjointed and jumps from topic to topic without adequate connections. The author tries to remedy this through the use of endless subheadings - averaging about one per page. To me, this strategy only further disrupts the flow of the text instead of organizing the chapters.
Overall, I would recommend this book to general readers. It's a startling look into the worst aspects of our criminal justice system. However, for anyone interested in a more comprehensive or academic analysis of the issues, I'd suggest looking elsewhere or at least supplementing this book with many additional sources.
*first read giveaway*
While the book is well-annotated, much of the text verges on the polemical (as one might guess from the subtitle). Some of the comparisons drawn by the author are over the top and work to detract from the sense of legitimacy of the more fact-based sections. Additionally, I found the organization of the book to be lacking. I couldn't identify a logical progression to the arguments laid out by the author, and even within single chapters the text is disjointed and jumps from topic to topic without adequate connections. The author tries to remedy this through the use of endless subheadings - averaging about one per page. To me, this strategy only further disrupts the flow of the text instead of organizing the chapters.
Overall, I would recommend this book to general readers. It's a startling look into the worst aspects of our criminal justice system. However, for anyone interested in a more comprehensive or academic analysis of the issues, I'd suggest looking elsewhere or at least supplementing this book with many additional sources.
*first read giveaway*
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